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Glossary entry

French term or phrase:

eau de fabrication

English translation:

process water

Added to glossary by Susan McDonald
Aug 7, 2017 16:51
6 yrs ago
French term

eau fabrication

French to English Science Food & Drink
This term is cropping up in lists of product ingredients for a frozen food company. So that is the only context - it's not appearing in any whole sentences.

So far it's an ingredient in mini-charlottes and caramel ice-cream bars. I think I am imbibing calories just by looking at this document! Any insights, as ever, would be gratefully received. Thanks in advance.
Proposed translations (English)
3 +3 process water
References
process water
Votes to reclassify question as PRO/non-PRO:

Non-PRO (1): David Hayes

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Discussion

Daryo Aug 9, 2017:
speaking of water ... and ingredients, an interesting story:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/3809539.stm
Tony M Aug 8, 2017:
@ David Thanks for that: that's exactly how I'd always previously understood it, when I've seen 'process water' opposed to (say) 'services water' — water used in the process; this appears a great deal in pharma contexts, for example. We've had it before in EN > FR, I'm pretty sure.
Tony M Aug 8, 2017:
@ BDF I agree! I think the writer was looking for a more hi-falutin word that meant 'water used in manufacture', and was unaware of the specific technical connotation of this particular term.
David Hayes Aug 8, 2017:
According to this reference (https://books.google.fr/books?id=URTLBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA106&lpg=P... process water is required to comply with the highest local standards for drinking water. Maybe the list of ingredients is just covering any traces of process water that may be left in the product. This is just an idea, of course! In this instance, it does not actually seem very likely, given the high percentage of "process water" (30.21%) mentioned. This could indicate that the term is indeed being used incorrectly in this text.
B D Finch Aug 8, 2017:
Error in ST? This document is all about process water: http://www.allianceforwaterefficiency.org/uploadedFiles/Reso... It doesn't seem at all likely that "process water" should be included in a list of ingredients. However, "process water" looks like the correct tranalation of "eau fabrication".
Susan McDonald (asker) Aug 8, 2017:
@Tony It does seem that plain "water" would be better. I'll check with the client and report back if there are any other insights. Thanks to one and all for chipping in! I've learned a lot about water in the last day or so.
Tony M Aug 8, 2017:
@ Susan Thanks!
Certianly, for the charlottes, one can see that there is a kind of say 'bavaroise' involved, so water would indeed be needed to make that with the gelatine etc.
So it does make sense as an ingredient.
However, I can't help feeling that if just plain 'eau' is used elsewhere, they are not really making the proper technical distinction with 'process water', and I would agree with Phil and Michele that your source text is probably wrong and you need to translate HERE as simply 'water' — it sounds as if possibly different people have written different parts, and not been consistent with their terminology.
Susan McDonald (asker) Aug 8, 2017:
Seems to be just sweet stuff "Eau fabrication" appears in the list of ingredients for the Charlottes, and three types of choc-ices. Not sure if that helps! Plain "Eau" is listed elsewhere in many ingredients.
Susan McDonald (asker) Aug 8, 2017:
List of ingredients The files I'm dealing with here are small Excel spreadsheets, each containing a table headed up "INGREDIENTS" and giving the percentages of each item. Here's the list of ingredients for the Raspberry/Passion Fruit Charlottes:

EAU FABRICATION
BISCUIT CUILLER
SUCRE CRISTALLISE
PUREE FRAMBOISE
CREME FRAICHE 35% MG
PREPARA TION FRAMBOISE
CONCENTRE DE FRUIT DE LA PASSION
FRAMBOISE ENTIERE
POUDRE LAIT 0% SPRAY FRANCAIS
JAUNE D'ŒUF
GELAINE
CONCENTRE DE CITRON JAUNE
GELATINE / EMULSIFIANT
EMULSIFIANT
STABILISANT
COLORANT ROCOU / CURCUMA

and the percentage of "eau fabrication" is 30.21% - it's at the top of the list. So I'm pretty sure it's an ingredient.

I've got another batch of 30 files which are similar. I'll take a look and see if this crops up again in these.
Tony M Aug 7, 2017:
@ Asker Can you confirm this is actually an 'ingredient'? Neither of those items seems likely to contain a great deal of water, if any; maybe it would help to give us the whole list as it appears?
I'm thinking this is possibly water consumed in making these items, but not actually contained within them?

Proposed translations

+3
8 mins
Selected

process water

It means water that is actually used as an ingredient (well usually) — at any rate, as part of the production process, i.e. needs to have a certain quality, rather than water that might just be used for indirect cooling, mopping the floors, etc.

I'm pretty sure about the meaning, and I'm also sure about this term used in EN; I'm just less certain about whether the correspondence is exact, and/or if there may be another specialist term used in this industry.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 heure (2017-08-07 18:45:42 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

OK, perhaps not as an actual ingredient; but at any rate, water consumed in the process; whatever, this is the correct translation, even if my explanation is not totally accurate.
Peer comment(s):
neutral philgoddard : Wouldn't we just say water?
29 mins
Oh no, Phil — in an industrial context, these distinctions are terribly important
agree David Hayes : This is what Termium (and the GDT) have it down as
1 hr
Thanks, David!
neutral Michele Fauble : In a list of ingredients (asker's context), it's usually just 'water'./Never seen anything but 'water' in the list of ingredients on a food label.
3 hrs
Nope, it's important to specify 'process water' / Yes, but this isn't a food label! It's clearly something industrial to do with the actual production (see question).
agree Yolanda Broad : You convinced me!
10 hrs
Thanks, Yolanda!
agree Daryo : water consumed/used in the process, maybe or maybe not as ingredeint of the final product
2 days 1 hr
Thanks, Daryo! That's how I've always understood it; but here, Asker is adamant these are in the 'ingredients'.
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Thanks for all the help, insights and comments. I can see that this is the correct translation for the term, although it seems to have been used erroneously in the source text. The client has not, so far, provided any explanation. "

Reference comments

1 hr
Reference:

process water

Process water is the name given for water which is not considered drinkable...
http://awtechco.com/what-is-process-water-definition/

If it is not considered drinkable, surely it should not be used as an ingredient?

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2017-08-07 18:27:38 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Process water : Water supplied or required for an industrial process.
https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/process_water
Peer comments on this reference comment:
agree Tony M : From Asker's additional context, we now know that the source term is being used inaccurately.
12 mins
Hope you're right - there are enough scandals about!
Something went wrong...
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